Hey all. We hit upper 90's the other day and OD started to flash. Advised the wife to slow down a bit and limp on home. Luckily was only about 10 miles from the house.

The last time this happed (3 years ago) we were on our way to WY from WI. While headed up the Big Horns, we lost the torque converter (extended Vaca...but steep damn price).

Anyhow! Haynes says from the trans to the aux cooler to the rad cooler and back to the trans. Yet the cooler says from the rad cooler to the aux then back to the rad. I don't trust Haynes much anymore, but it seems I'd have better cooling if I hit the aux after the rad cooler. Does it matter? From the rad to the aux, maybe have to worry about running to cold in the winter? But, will things still run hot in the height of summer?

BTW...I'm flushing every last drop that I can get out of this trans, I don't want any of that over heated fluid messing things up any longer than I have to.

Went ahead and installed a 16000GVW rated aux cooler. Not a bad job, I think removing the bumper was the hardest part. Well, sticking the stupid nylon bolts through the radiator with out removing the fan shroud was a bit of a pain.

When dropping the trans pan I found that using a 30gal trash can lid will help catch additional fluid since my oil waste pan is not as large as the transmission pan. Just poke a hole in the middle.

Since I couldn't find any flush in a can for the rad cooler part, I flushed through the cooler and swapped out 13 quarts of MercV. Hopefully not a lot of damage was done since the old fluid was pretty dark. Shifts so smooth.

Hooked aux cooler in line after the main cooler instead of before like Haynes says...I just don't trust that book much any more.

It's been a few 1000 miles and we've taken two 200+ mile trips since. (If it's going to fail it needs to fail before we head to WY for x-mas) There is still a shudder between 1st and 2nd under moderate to heavy acceleration, but all other gears are fine.

I didn't include any pictures because I suck, and it didn't occur to me (again) till I was almost finished.

I placed the aux cooler off center on the passenger side of the lower part of the radiator. This clears the front frame and allows some working room for the hoses. On the driver side there is a hole in the plastic cowling (I guess) just above the drain plug. It's big enough for one hose, but a few seconds with a rotozip and both hoses will fit through.

Each hose was protected where ever it was secured (zip tied) or went through something (plastic cowl). The hose splicing is a bit of a hack job since I made some cuts before installing the cooler that were not necessary. More than likely you will need to order splice couplers online or get them at a hardware store since most auto parts places only carry the ones for fuel lines...those will LEAK on you. All splices were made on the drivers side since I don't have a flaring tool for the metal lines.

When you remove the bumper you can eliminate some additional disassembly by using a small right angle ratchet that holds driver bits. Loosen the wheel well covers enough to get your arms in and have at it. Prob helps to remove the front wheels too.

Slow engaging reverse when cold, rough shudder between 1st and 2nd. Last time we over-heated the tranny we lost the torque converter a 1000 or so continuous miles later. The Aux cooler should maybe help when we get the trans rebuilt in a few months...

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